Abstract:
Objective This study aimed to identify the clinicopathological factors that are predictive of lymph node metastasis (LNM) in poorly differentiated early gastric cancer(PDEGC), and to increase the possibility of using laparoscopic wedge resection for treating patients with PDEGC.
Methods Clinical data of 80 patients with PDEGC who underwent surgery were collected.The association between clinicopathological factors and LNM was retrospectively analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.
Results Univariate analysis showed that the tumor size, depth of invasion, and lymphatic vessel involvement(LVI) were the significant and independent risk factors of LNM.The LNM rate reached 42.9%in cases with all three risk factors, i.e., tumor size≥2 cm, submucosal carcinoma, and positive cancer embolus of lymphatic vessels.Among all 80 patients, LNM was not found in 25 without the three clinicopathological risk factors.
Conclusion Laparoscopic wedge resection alone may be sufficient to treat intramucosal PDEGC if the tumor size is≤2.0 cm and if LVI is absent in the postoperative histological examination.